Medical debt is the single biggest reason for personal bankruptcy, and Kentucky is 10th in the nation for people with medical bills in collection. Even before the pandemic, more than half of Kentuckians experienced a healthcare affordability burden. When you’re paycheck-to-paycheck trying to make ends meet, there’s no extra money for unexpected medical bills or ever-increasing out of pocket costs. Many Kentucky families are just one emergency away from financial crisis and a cycle of debt collection that can feel inescapable.
Kentucky Voices for Health is a nonpartisan coalition of consumer health advocates dedicated to addressing the root causes of poor health in the commonwealth. Cost is the most common reason for avoiding medical care in Kentucky. Medical debt makes people more likely to miss medical appointments, discontinue treatments, and skip prescriptions. No one should have to choose between medical treatment or meeting basic needs like food, heat, or rent.
Medical debt is a systemic issue that requires policy change to address. KVH continues to advocate for much-needed reforms that help empower consumers and curb spiraling healthcare costs. But we also recognize that for too many Kentuckians, the need is urgent. For those buried under bills, struggling to meet their needs, going deeper into debt– this issue simply cannot wait for politicians and corporations to come around. That’s why we’re partnering with RIP Medical Debt to purchase and forgive bundles of local debt here in Kentucky for pennies on the dollar.
When you make a contribution to Kentucky Voices for Health this giving season, we’ll use half of your contribution to help eliminate medical debt for Kentuckians in need. $1 purchases more than $100 of delinquent debt, that means a relatively small investment can end up doing major good for a lot of people. Our current goal of $11,000 will be used to eliminate $1.8 million in available medical debt. We hope you’ll join us to help erase medical debt here in Kentucky, protecting the lives and livelihoods of some of Kentucky’s most vulnerable individuals, families, and communities.
Join us! Give below or by visiting tinyurl.com/KVHGiving.